Sherry
Melecki - a Texan turned Nebraskan and a devoted museum store
volunteer - came to the NSHS thirteen
years ago. Sherry and her husband would bring their daughters,
Meredith and Sarah, to the museum frequently. She then saw a
notice in the newspaper - the NSHS needed docents. Because Sherry
grew up in Texas, she thought being a docent would be a good
way to learn more about Nebraska history.

So, you might ask, how is it that someone
who wanted to be a docent winds
up as a volunteer in the Lincoln museum store? In the fall of
2000 Sherry went through the docent training, but at the time,
tours weren't provided on Fridays, and that was the day she could
volunteer. Not one to let this be an obstacle, she expressed
an interest in the museum store, and we have been fortunate to
have her talents there ever since.

Sherry really enjoys meeting and greeting
people who come into the store
- from every state and many foreign countries. When teachers
come into the store Sherry is pleased and impressed with their
excitement about Nebraska history. The teachers appreciate the
store for its wonderful resources, and opportunities to make
the classroom more interesting.

At St. Paul Methodist Church, where
Sherry works as the director of
Adult and Small Group Ministries, she depends on volunteers to
help get things accomplished. She said, "I respect the volunteers,
and I want to have the same kind of pleasure that I think my
volunteers are getting from me and their volunteer experience
at St. Paul." Last winter she organized a scavenger hunt
at the Museum of Nebraska History for St. Paul members. It was
so popular the participants wanted to do it monthly.

One of Sherry's other interests includes
"scrapbooking." She recently
returned from a trip to Australia, where her oldest daughter,
Meredith, is working on her master's degree at the University
of Wollongong in New South Wales, Australia. Sherry is also making
a scrapbook for her youngest daughter, Sarah, who will be graduating
from Lincoln East, and plans to pursue a law degree and Ph.D.
in psychology. Sherry's husband Tom is the vice president of
the National Student Loan Corporation. Sherry holds a bachelor
of arts in English and history from Angelo State University,
San Angelo, Texas, and a master's degree in educational administration
and student personnel from Texas Tech University.

I asked Sherry how her family became
engaged in volunteer activities.
She indicated that her whole family is very involved in volunteering.
Meredith volunteers in Australia. Her parents volunteered a lot
and it has just been a part of their lives, very fulfilling.
"Our daughters saw us volunteering and they both volunteered
when they were in elementary school." No matter what Sherry's
original volunteer interest was, we are pleased to have her as
a key volunteer in the store and at the NSHS!

Moving the Capital (or
is it the Capitol?)

One conundrum that writers often face is the distinction between capitol (the building)
and capital (the seat of government). According to one early
Nebraska legislator, confusion over the meaning of the two words
threatened to derail efforts to relocate the seat of Nebraska
government in 1867.

From 1855 until statehood was achieved
in 1867, Omaha was the capital
of Nebraska Territory. This reality continually outraged legislators
and other Nebraskans from south of the Platte River, who felt
political chicanery by Omaha politicians and speculators had
deprived the South Platters of their rightful claim to this prize.
Although the area south of the Platte had the larger population,
Territorial Governor Thomas B. Cuming had drawn the legislative
districts to give those living north of the Platte a majority.
The North Platters were thus able to turn back all efforts to
relocate the capital during the territorial years. The political
balance changed, however, with the ascendancy of the Republican
Party during the Civil War and the election of the first state
legislature, which had a South Platte majority. The first state
governor, David Butler, was also from south of the Platte and
could be counted on to support capital relocation.

One of Butler's first official acts was to call the state legislature into special
session on May 16, 1867, to get the new state up and running.
Removal of the capital from Omaha was high on the list of things
to do. The South Platte majority in both houses of the legislature
had the votes to effect removal, but the lack of a dictionary
and the idiosyncrasies of the English language had them scratching
their heads, according to William M. Hicklin, a representative
from Otoe County. He recalled the story in connection with an
1892 reunion of members of the first state legislature, and his
tale appeared in volume five of the Nebraska State Historical
Society Publications (1893).

According to Hicklin, two days were
required to draft the relocation bill
because none of the legislators from the South Platte region
knew which of the words, capital or capitol, referred to the
town and which to the building. Obviously, the bill's intent
was to relocate the seat of government, "the capital,"
not merely the building, "the capitol." Not a single
dictionary was to be found among the legislators from south of
the Platte and no one in Omaha would lend them one, because Omahans
opposed removing the capital.

Some of the South Platte members were
adamant that it was the capitol
that was going to be removed, but they grew suspicious when Omaha
legislators agreed with them. Finally Hicklin telegraphed J.
Sterling Morton in Nebraska City, who replied, "Ask the
Omaha fellows and then spell it the other way. Keep your eyes
open." With that, Hicklin and the others concluded that,
indeed, it was the capital that they wanted to move, and the
bill was drafted with the proper spelling to accomplish that
goal. It passed June 14, 1867, and capital commissioners Governor
David Butler, Secretary of State Thomas P. Kennard, and Auditor
John Gillespie proceeded to select the village of Lancaster (renamed
Lincoln) as Nebraska's state capital. A new capitol building
was built in Lincoln, and the legislature convened there for
its 1869 session.

-- Jim Potter

Brown Bag Lectures

The Brown Bag Lecture Series (a history forum) is presented on the third Thursday
of each month, at noon, in the Blackman auditorium, Museum of
Nebraska History, Fifteenth and P Streets (131 Centennial Mall
North), Lincoln. We invite you to bring your lunch and enjoy
the lecture! The September and October programs are as follows:

September 15: Brown Bag Lecture, "A
Nebraska Institution: The Standard Oil Company of Nebraska,"
presented by Bob Puschendorf.
The story of oil-giant John D. Rockefeller and the great Standard
Oil Company has become one of fame, notoriety, and legend in
American history. Less well known is Standard Oil as an independent
Nebraska company and its marketing of petroleum products that
paralleled the arrival of the automobile in the state.

Bob Puschendorf is associate director for the Nebraska State Historical Society and
serves as deputy state historic preservation officer. He has
retraced the route of the historic Meridian Highway through Nebraska
and conducted fieldwork on historic places associated with highway
development and the automobile in Nebraska. His research on both
the history of the Standard Oil Company in Nebraska and the commercial
evolution of automobile filling stations has resulted in the
nomination of several properties that are now listed in the National
Register of Historic Places.

October 20: Brown Bag Lecture, "American
Indian Stereotyping in Literature and the Arts," by Nancy Gillis, executive director, John G. Neihardt
State Historic Site. Ste-reo-type\noun; a standardized picture,
idea, attitude that represents an oversimplified, affective,
uncritical and unrealistic judgment.

Stereotypical images abound in propaganda, advertising, cartoons, movie plots,
and many other places. Adults can usually determine the difference
between image and reality, however, children cannot without instruction;
therefore one place stereotyping definitely does not belong is
in children's literature and educational material, yet that is
where most can be found. So how do we dispel the myriad incorrect
images of Native Americans? Awareness may be the key. As author
Michael Dorris put it, "'I' isn't for Indian; it is often
for Ignorance." Combining both "in your face"
and very subtle imaging from a variety of materials, Gillis explores
their usage and impact.

If you are unable to attend the lectures
at the museum, catch the series
as it is broadcast each month on Lincoln Cablevision Channel
5. Lectures are televised the month following the original presentation.
The history forum lecture series is broadcast on Wednesdays at
noon and 8:30 PM, Fridays at 5:00 PM and Saturdays at 6:00 PM.

The lectures are also being broadcast
in Omaha on public access Channel
23 and Cox's new digital Channel 802. The lectures air on Cox
Channel 23 at 3:00 p.m. on the second and fourth Fridays of each
month, followed by five days of broadcast on Digital 802.

Funding for the filming of the Brown Bag Lecture Series is provided by
the Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation.

Hour After Hour, Day After
Day, Year After Year

The Nebraska State Historical Society
volunteers are the best! In fiscal
year 2004-2005 Society volunteers contributed 8,007 hours. NSHS
volunteers have always been an important part of the Society's
work since our founding in 1878. Volunteers spend hours, days,
and even years to help the Society fulfill its mission to collect,
preserve, and open to all the histories, we share. Just a few
of the contributions include:

Assisting school groups and the public at the Museum of Nebraska History and the Thomas
P. Kennard House in Lincoln, the Chimney Rock National
Historic Site near Bayard, the Fort Robinson Museum near
Crawford, the Neligh Mill State Historic Site in Neligh,
the Senator George W. Norris State Historic Site in McCook,
and the Gerald R. Ford Conservation Center in Omaha.

Working behind the scenes on projects in the NSHS collections

Assisting patrons
in the library/archives

Providing customer service and sales at museum stores

This listing features only a small portion
of the commitment made by the NSHS
volunteers. The Board of Trustees and staff applaud your commitment
and sincerely thank you for your continued and dedicated service
to the NSHS.

A GEM of an ANNIVERSARY

Diamonds, pearls, rubies - well, it's not exactly what you are thinking.
The NSHS museum stores don't sell gemstones, but we certainly
carry other great gems. The NSHS museum stores are having a twentieth
anniversary celebration, September 20-25, and want you to get
a gem of a deal. The sale will include twenty percent savings
on items at each NSHS museum store. Internet and museum store
catalog shoppers can place orders by calling the Lincoln museum
store at 402-471-3447 during the week of the sale.

Museum stores celebrating the anniversary are located at the Museum of Nebraska History,
Fifteenth and P streets, Lincoln; the Gerald R. Ford Conservation
Center, Omaha (402-595-1180); the Fort Robinson Museum, near
Crawford (308-665-2919); the Chimney Rock National Historic Site
near Bayard (308-586-2581); the Neligh Mill State Historic Site,
Neligh (402-887-4303); and the Senator George W. Norris State
Historic Site, McCook (308-345-8484). Shoppers at the Ford Center
or one of the historic sites, should call for hours or visit
our website at www.nebraskahistory.org

Making a Gift to the NSHS
Foundation

Because of the Nebraska State Historical
Society's need for private funding,
the Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation was incorporated
in 1942 as a public, nonprofit, 501c(3) organization. The Foundation's
purpose remains the same today: to solicit, receive, and manage
gifts of cash and property in support of the acquisition, preservation,
and exhibition of Nebraska's historical treasures. The Foundation's
Board of Trustees carefully manages the Foundation assets to
help ensure Nebraska's history will be accessible for future
generations.

How can you make a gift in support of
Nebraska history? The Nebraska
State Historical Society is continually searching for pieces
of Nebraska's past and for ways to share Nebraska's rich history
with others. The Foundation assists the Society in its ongoing
endeavor to broaden and strengthen its work as publisher, explorer,
and guardian over historical sites and artifacts throughout Nebraska
by securing additional funding.

Outright gifts,
generally either cash or credit card gifts, are among the most
common ways to make a tax-deductible gift.

Appreciated securities can be donated. The current value is used as the
tax-deductible gift amount and taxes on capital gains are avoided.

Current value of buildings or land
donated is used for income tax
deductions. No capital gains taxes are due, and estate taxes
may be decreased or eliminated.

Life insurance
can provide an inexpensive, flexible, and discrete deferred gift,
and contributions to the Foundation for premium payments may
be tax-deductible.

A gift by bequest
is the most common deferred gift, and often the most practical
way for those who wish to make a major contribution.

Charitable gift trusts and annuities provide lifetime income for the donor as well
as tax benefits and, as deferred gifts, support historical purposes
after the donor's death.

Named permanent endowments or restricted
funds can be established through
gifts or bequests of $25,000 or more, providing ongoing support
for areas of special interest to the donor.

For assistance or information about
how to make an outright gift through
the Foundation, include the Foundation in your will, earn income
from your gift with an annuity gift, establish a memorial fund,
or designate support for a particular purpose, please contact:

New Face

Rachel Kreifels,
museum store

"The Nebraska State Historical
Society collects, preserves, and opens to all, the histories
we share."

Volunteer News
is published bi-monthly for the world-class volunteers at the
Nebraska State Historical Society. For information about volunteering
with any of our divisions, or at any location across the state,
contact: